Here's where to go this month

The eternal allure of Amanpuri notwithstanding, Phuket's reputation as a luxury destination has suffered over the past decade thanks to excessive, unregulated development on its west coast. But its substantially less developed east coast, is another matter entirely; and the opening in autumn/winter 2012 of The Yamu, set on the still-pristine, wooded peninsula of the same name, may yet restore the island's cachet as a modish place to spend Christmas and New Year. Overlooking a secluded beach at the end of the peninsula, on Phang Nga Bay, the hotel was to have been designed by Philippe Starck and operated by Adrian Zecha's GHM brand. But hospitality has become a protean industry since the recession, and the hotel is now being developed by Como Hotels and Resorts (www.como.bz ), the brand behind luxury properties in London, Bangkok, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bhutan. De...